DC Politics of Social Security Are Shifting to the Left

This is what shifting the political debate really looks like. It is when you see politicians cynically scrambling. From Huffington Post:

Rep. Allyson Schwartz (D-Pa.) signed on as a cosponsor to a bill to increase Social Security benefits one day after a centrist Democratic think tank she is affiliated with slammed the idea in a Wall Street Journal op-ed.

Schwartz, a candidate for Pennsylvania governor, is an honorary co-chair of the think tank, Third Way. She endorsed the Strengthening Social Security Act of 2013on Tuesday, though a spokesman said she had been in contact with the bill’s sponsor since Nov. 22, before the editorial was published. The bill was first introduced on Sept. 17.

For years so called deficit hawks spent hundred of millions trying to create a political climate in Washington that supported cutting Social Security benefits. Their efforts were only halted in no small part thanks to Republicans refusing to raise taxes, but the steady pushback by a range of groups is now paying off.

The ‘grand bargain’ appears dead for the time being and the Overton window shifts steadily to the left. The idea of expanding Social Security benefits is not just being openly discussed but is now seen as a way for politicians to prove they are good Democrats.

Jon Walker

Jonathan Walker grew up in New Jersey. He graduated from Wesleyan University in 2006. He is an expert on politics, health care and drug policy. He is also the author of After Legalization and Cobalt Slave, and a Futurist writer at http://pendinghorizon.com